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Poiuyt

(18,110 posts)
Thu May 30, 2019, 11:30 AM May 2019

How the Brits view Trump

From a Facebook post:

Someone asked "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?"

Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response:

"A few things spring to mind.

Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.

For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.

So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.

I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.

But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.

And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.

Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.

Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.

And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.

Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.

He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.

He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.

That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.

There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
* Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
* You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.

After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.

God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.

He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.

In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:

'My God… what… have… I… created?

If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set."

Thanks Occupy Democrats

73 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
How the Brits view Trump (Original Post) Poiuyt May 2019 OP
Well, that was enjoyable Cirque du So-What May 2019 #1
The Brits do have a way wit words. Left-over May 2019 #14
recommended to publicize real Cannabis calm May 2019 #62
And yet KatyMan May 2019 #2
Boris is going to jail angrychair May 2019 #45
Jail is very unlikely for Johnson sheepfarm May 2019 #69
I have seen this before, but it is completely spot on. smirkymonkey May 2019 #3
Here's another Brit answering the zentrum May 2019 #18
God, he is SUCH an asshole!! smirkymonkey May 2019 #31
Me too. zentrum May 2019 #38
"His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws..." lagomorph777 May 2019 #39
I agree! lunatica May 2019 #50
That was AWESOME, in addition to being accurate. NoMoreRepugs May 2019 #4
Delish malaise May 2019 #5
Kicked, bookmarked, fabulous. northoftheborder May 2019 #6
Thank you, Brits for not holding back. If it weren't for Brexit, I'd beg you to take us back... hlthe2b May 2019 #7
Well done!!!!!!!!!!!!! flamingdem May 2019 #8
The Brits should tell the USAF to cover over the "United States of America" Submariner May 2019 #9
Trump is Mr. Gumby. lagomorph777 May 2019 #40
OMG that's absolutely perfect and spot on!!! Dem_4_Life May 2019 #10
"Sniveling sidekick." cwydro May 2019 #11
Uriah Heep. ChazInAz May 2019 #58
I have the same reasons. nt SunSeeker May 2019 #12
Perfectly done. zentrum May 2019 #13
Very nice! nt SWBTATTReg May 2019 #15
This view is not restricted to Brits. n/t MrModerate May 2019 #16
"Jabba the Hutt of privilege" renate May 2019 #17
Well..... MyOwnPeace May 2019 #19
So sublime ChubbyStar May 2019 #20
I want to find and share that post! Amimnoch May 2019 #21
That is *brilliant*! Texin May 2019 #22
a challenge ... CloudWatcher May 2019 #23
CloudWatcher DENVERPOPS May 2019 #27
He has NO redeeming qualities. 3catwoman3 May 2019 #33
Agreeed. GetRidOfThem May 2019 #70
"his main appeal is simply the ability to piss off anyone with a brain and especially liberals." sop May 2019 #52
Who's asking you to respect Trump supporters? SMC22307 May 2019 #56
This is, to use a British phrase, spot on! llmart May 2019 #24
Oh, that made me feel good. Thank you! Rabrrrrrr May 2019 #25
That's about as succinctly as you could possibly put it. nt Lucky Luciano May 2019 #26
This guy has tRumps number!...spot on! sdfernando May 2019 #28
Then explain that heartless soulless humorless monster Maggie Thatcher 50 Shades Of Blue May 2019 #29
Excellent and bookmarked. yonder May 2019 #30
Nailed it. Nailed it. 3catwoman3 May 2019 #32
+100 narnian60 May 2019 #63
Wonderful! bronxiteforever May 2019 #34
Perfect! snacker May 2019 #35
The sense of humor thing is so true More_Cowbell May 2019 #36
One of the telltale signs of a psychopath is defacto7 May 2019 #48
Lacking a sense of humor is another sign of dementia FakeNoose May 2019 #66
About 24% of Brits in the North of England liked him, and gave him whathehell May 2019 #37
"The Shakespeare of Shit" Marcuse May 2019 #41
The guacamole of snot. dchill May 2019 #64
Amusing, but.. Loge23 May 2019 #42
Well, yes FakeNoose May 2019 #65
BRAVO What a perfect description of the cruelest of the cruel. Totally Tunsie May 2019 #43
...and Omar the Tentmaker dresses him funny. Buns_of_Fire May 2019 #44
It WAS drawing attention away frim his middle, as it is meant to... maddiemom May 2019 #73
Exactly. moondust May 2019 #46
Love it! Blue Owl May 2019 #47
It would be funnier if the Brits weren't about to Blue_Tires May 2019 #49
Point well taken. My kid is going to spend part of the summer in England on a research... NNadir May 2019 #53
The problem is that most British people won't have a say on this sheepfarm May 2019 #71
Interesting... Thanks for the added insight! Blue_Tires May 2019 #72
As an Englishman bluecollar2 May 2019 #51
God, this is perfect. n/t MBS May 2019 #54
I put this up back in February; A HERETIC I AM May 2019 #55
I Missed It Then JimGinPA May 2019 #61
Simple reason he was elected. ChazInAz May 2019 #57
and here we have it: Ligyron May 2019 #59
Ah! As refreshing and bracing as an ice-cold G&T! Hekate May 2019 #60
Fractal flaws & staring deep into the abyss MasonDreams May 2019 #67
I concur sheepfarm May 2019 #68

sheepfarm

(38 posts)
69. Jail is very unlikely for Johnson
Fri May 31, 2019, 07:21 AM
May 2019

But if he way found to be deliberately lied during the run up to the EU referendum then it would be seriously damaging to him - however it would impossible to know what the fallout would be given these strange times.

In a way its a shame it has come to this, but those leading the top of the British political establishment have only themselves to blame. In the 20th century nearly all ministers and other politicians that got caught up lying or abusing their public office would resign in disgrace and fall out of the public eye to at best being a backbench MP. However a lot of the current crop in the House of Commons are much more shameless. Labour under Tony Blair largely started this idea of bringing back in politicians into government whom had previously resigned because of misconduct because he was so desperate to have Peter Mandelson close to him at all times, but this current crop of Conservatives are just taking the piss. So now the only way to fight back against this lack of respect for public office is to get the law involved rather than simply relying on unwritten conventions.

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
3. I have seen this before, but it is completely spot on.
Thu May 30, 2019, 11:38 AM
May 2019

It captures Trump's despicable personality to a tee. It honestly baffles me how anyone could observe the man in action and find him likable.

zentrum

(9,865 posts)
18. Here's another Brit answering the
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:32 PM
May 2019

.....question from the same thread.

By Jason Street

Why do many British people not like Donald Trump?
Prior to becoming President, Trump whilst building his golf courses in Scotland Trump defrauded numerous contractors in the building of his golf courses leaving multiple small businesses in debt and having to foreclose!!!

He tasked his son Donald Jnr to devalue the value of properties of residents living within the vicinity of his golf courses and he did this publicly!!!!

At his Turnberry golf course, part of the purchase agreement was that local residents were to be able to access the beach. He then signed the agreement and purchased the land, then proceeded to fence the beach off to local residents!!!

He bullied and publicly shamed pensioners (that had lived there all their lives) who weren’t willing to sell their land for the reduced value he was offering!

He then had the cheek to campaign with his team of heavies to eliminate clean renewable energy on Scottish Coastlines because he felt wind power looked unsightly!
 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
31. God, he is SUCH an asshole!!
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:15 PM
May 2019

I am amazed the locals haven't gotten together and torches his golf courses and properties already. 😡😤

zentrum

(9,865 posts)
38. Me too.
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:51 PM
May 2019

But, same for this country. He ripped off worker after worker. Stiffed contractors.

I just don't get it.

lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
39. "His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws..."
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:51 PM
May 2019

There is so much rhetorical god in this post! Beautiful.

Submariner

(12,494 posts)
9. The Brits should tell the USAF to cover over the "United States of America"
Thu May 30, 2019, 11:57 AM
May 2019

and "Presidential Seal" on Air Force 1 when Trump visits, because Trump is so divisive and such an embarrassment to the United Kingdom, and they don't want to take a chance that the Queen or Monty Python might see the plane in passing.

renate

(13,776 posts)
17. "Jabba the Hutt of privilege"
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:32 PM
May 2019

This is all beautiful, but that line tickled me.

But if there was one word used in this piece that sums him up best, I'd say it was "nasty." It's pretty undeniable; even people who like him would have to admit that part of what they like about him is his nastiness.

ChubbyStar

(3,191 posts)
20. So sublime
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:38 PM
May 2019

" he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.

God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid."

This is so perfect.

Texin

(2,588 posts)
22. That is *brilliant*!
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:51 PM
May 2019

I've actually read this previously - can't remember where - but the single line that shines the most for me is this:

"In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump".

CloudWatcher

(1,842 posts)
23. a challenge ...
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:52 PM
May 2019

I've often pondered a challenge ... can I name even one admirable quality in Trump?

Of course not any of his "policies" .. such as they are. But even people you despise can have admirable qualities.

But Trump. Hmm. Good husband? Good father? Good friend? Caring person? Art lover? Philanthropist? Humanitarian? Successful businessman? Decent employer? Skilled warrior? Smart investor? Global thinker? Team player?

Anything? Anything at all?

He fails and fails and fails by any rational metric.

I've been reduced to one. He might eventually make good worm food if buried in a wood coffin. But I suspect they'll use some metal casket so even that lowest of low bars is a fail.

Even to the GOP, it appears his main appeal is simply the ability to piss off anyone with a brain and especially liberals.

Tell me again how I'm supposed to respect Trump supporters?

DENVERPOPS

(8,780 posts)
27. CloudWatcher
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:59 PM
May 2019

Awesome statement !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perfect in every sense.

I would worry that the worms that devoured him would get dug up and used to go fishing. The worms would cause all the fish in the stream to die off........LOL

sop

(10,076 posts)
52. "his main appeal is simply the ability to piss off anyone with a brain and especially liberals."
Thu May 30, 2019, 07:05 PM
May 2019

Once you scratch their paper-thin veneer of support for Trump, his followers are left with nothing more than "owning the liberals." Seemingly, their raison d'être is pissing off people they've been told to hate by FOX News. These are fools who would burn down their own houses just to piss off their liberal next door neighbors with smoke from the blaze.

SMC22307

(8,090 posts)
56. Who's asking you to respect Trump supporters?
Thu May 30, 2019, 08:16 PM
May 2019

Do you feel you were expected to respect W supporters? Poppy Bush's? Seems like an odd expectation.

You're right about no admirable qualities. He's like Joffrey, who had none whatsoever. At least Ramsay didn't wuss out of battle and fought alongside his men.

llmart

(15,524 posts)
24. This is, to use a British phrase, spot on!
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:54 PM
May 2019

My stars, the British have him pegged. All of this is so good and 100% correct, but my favorite line was "Jabba the Hut of privilege".

As we say on DU all the time, what a national embarrassment he is.

Rabrrrrrr

(58,347 posts)
25. Oh, that made me feel good. Thank you!
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:56 PM
May 2019

Shakespeare of shit.

And I'm glad that Britain can see that Donald has no sense of humor except that he thinks meanness is funny.

sdfernando

(4,917 posts)
28. This guy has tRumps number!...spot on!
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:02 PM
May 2019

With regard to "So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people"

That 1/3 of people are RACISTS and are willing to overlook everything else, even when it hurts them or their interests, because in their eyes it validates their RACISM...it as simple as that.

50 Shades Of Blue

(9,906 posts)
29. Then explain that heartless soulless humorless monster Maggie Thatcher
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:07 PM
May 2019

I agree with every one of his points and I'm a lifelong Anglophile. But the British have elected some awful people too. Not Trump level, but bad.

More_Cowbell

(2,190 posts)
36. The sense of humor thing is so true
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:43 PM
May 2019

When has Trump ever said anything witty that makes people smile? The closest he ever comes is saying something mean and getting his troglodytic followers to laugh at the expense of someone else.

When do you ever see him smile a genuine smile? It's always just that teeth-baring thing like you get when toddlers are learning to smile for the camera.

We never see a moment of genuine warmth between him and anyone else (well sometimes, Ivanka, but then there's always an overlying patina of creepiness). We never see him share a private remark that makes the listener genuinely smile. And even more strangely, we never see him genuinely smile at the remark of someone else.

It's like he's not human.

defacto7

(13,485 posts)
48. One of the telltale signs of a psychopath is
Thu May 30, 2019, 06:24 PM
May 2019

the inability to understand, create or receive humor. It's a genetic condition. No empathy, no humor.

FakeNoose

(32,527 posts)
66. Lacking a sense of humor is another sign of dementia
Fri May 31, 2019, 02:16 AM
May 2019

... but I think it only counts if the person previously had the sense of humor, and lost it. Since Chump has never had one to begin with, well I don't know what it means. Even Satan can laugh once in a while.

whathehell

(29,023 posts)
37. About 24% of Brits in the North of England liked him, and gave him
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:50 PM
May 2019

Last edited Thu May 30, 2019, 02:29 PM - Edit history (1)

favorable ratings during his campaign.

The number It came up during a Parliamentary hearing. The subject was whether to allow Trump to enter the UK. Many were against it, but others asked " What if he wins"? and noted his "favorable" ratings in both the South and North of England.

Loge23

(3,922 posts)
42. Amusing, but..
Thu May 30, 2019, 02:52 PM
May 2019

...let's not forget that the majority of Brits voted for Brexit, and then turned around and voted in Nigel Forage and Boris Johnson, both sycophants of the current title-holder of the US presidency.
Apparently, they have their own problems.

FakeNoose

(32,527 posts)
65. Well, yes
Fri May 31, 2019, 02:12 AM
May 2019

... because Pootie has been f*cking them over the same way he's done to us.

I think the Brits can see what's been done to them, so it makes me wonder why we can't see it ourselves.

Totally Tunsie

(10,885 posts)
43. BRAVO What a perfect description of the cruelest of the cruel.
Thu May 30, 2019, 02:55 PM
May 2019

I've printed this out to hang prominently on my fridge.

Buns_of_Fire

(17,142 posts)
44. ...and Omar the Tentmaker dresses him funny.
Thu May 30, 2019, 03:49 PM
May 2019

Of course, in Omar's defense, it's hard to cut a suit to look so cheap. I'm sure extra work was required to tailor it to somewhat cover his ENORMOUS ASS (and panty lines!).

And wearing your ties long to make you look thinner? It ain't working, comrade.

maddiemom

(5,106 posts)
73. It WAS drawing attention away frim his middle, as it is meant to...
Fri May 31, 2019, 11:12 AM
May 2019

Unfortunately he's becoming more and more obese: way beyond the size of a waistline where a longer tie helps.

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
49. It would be funnier if the Brits weren't about to
Thu May 30, 2019, 06:35 PM
May 2019

make Trump clone Boris Johnson their new Prime Minister...

NNadir

(33,449 posts)
53. Point well taken. My kid is going to spend part of the summer in England on a research...
Thu May 30, 2019, 07:11 PM
May 2019

...grant and we're hoping he gets out of there before the shit hits the fan.

sheepfarm

(38 posts)
71. The problem is that most British people won't have a say on this
Fri May 31, 2019, 08:01 AM
May 2019

The successor to Theresa May will be decided on two stages. First, MPs of the Conservative parliamentary party must vote to narrow the candidate list to their two preferred contenders. After that the party membership will then vote to decide whom should lead the party and whoever wins becomes party leader, and by current circumstances would also become UK Prime Minister.

Back in the 1980's the membership numbers of the Conservative Party ran into millions. In 2019 this number is now down to only around 100,000. So it is these 100,000 members that will determine whom the next PM will be. Not the electorate at large. Like in Canada, the Prime Minister isn't directly elected to the office.

Whilst Boris Johnson is the current bookmakers favourite to become the next Tory leader, recent history has suggested that the favourite rarely wins the contest. The big hurdle for Johnson is to get into the final two, he's known not to be very popular among some Conservative MPs, several of whom have said privately that they would quit the party if he became leader. However Johnson does have popular grass roots support among the party membership so he got as far as that it would be a shock if he didnt win.

If he became PM, he would not be obliged to hold a General Election until 2022 at the latest. However if the threat from some Tory MPs were followed through then he'd almost definitely be running a minority government even with the DUP still supporting him, and unilaterally pulling the UK out of the EU by October 31st with "No deal" would have significant consequences both short and long term. He could of course try to call a General Election but that is fraught with issues. While Johnson is popular with grass root Tory voters, he is loathed by many that are not, and tactical voting to secure wins in seats for "anyone but Tory" would be bad enough. Not only that, Johnson's own seat in the House of Commons only has a small majority and the constituency he represents voted "remain" back in 2016. A Prime Minister losing their seat in a General Election is unprecedented in British political history, but there would be a chance it could happen here.

Also to add, recent opinion polls have shown that the current political landscape in Britain is in chaos, with a resurgent Liberal Democrats now topping them just ahead of the Brexit Party with both the Conservatives and Labour falling behind both of them. In a first-past-the-post General Election those polling percentages would present utter chaos, making it difficult to predict whom would be favourites to win in a majority of constituencies and the House of Commons likely to end up utterly split.

It looks like things are about to get more chaotic than what has even taken place over the last 12 months. Throw in a Liberal Democrat party that has come back from the dead into the public eye after their coalition days with the Tories between 2010 to 2015, their sister party in Northern Ireland the Alliance party whom have just come off the back of their best election results in over 40 years and have now an MEP elected to the EU Parliament making matters concerning the border with the Republic of Ireland still relevant to Brexit if not more so, and the one man shitshow band that is the con man Farage leading his useful idiots to a land of make believe etc. would give a high chance that not only would Johnson becoming Tory leader and PM spell the end of the Conservatives as we know it, but actually lead to the break up of the UK.

Ligyron

(7,614 posts)
59. and here we have it:
Thu May 30, 2019, 09:47 PM
May 2019

"In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump."

MasonDreams

(756 posts)
67. Fractal flaws & staring deep into the abyss
Fri May 31, 2019, 05:43 AM
May 2019

Bravo! He is so extremely ugly, it requires extraordinary talent and hard work just to describe it. Thank You

sheepfarm

(38 posts)
68. I concur
Fri May 31, 2019, 07:07 AM
May 2019

Although there is a conflict of interest regarding Trump and how the UK, or more precisely England, is conducting itself regarding Brexit and how a significant proportion of the electorate there, about 1/3rd as well, are as ignorant to what is going on around them, still thinking its a great idea while a visible shitshow is incoming.

Nevertheless, the observation in the OP on Trump is so spot on I really can't build on it. And it's not just the British, the Irish have largely the same social sensibilities as them and regard Trump in the same way. To paraphrase Ralph Wiggum on Trump, "he's funny but not ha ha funny".

From my own point of view, if from European eyes you were to come up with a caricature of the negative stereotype of the fat, vapid, loud, vain, bullying, shallow, proudly ignorant and grotesque American who claims to be God fearing while standing beside his third wife, then it's hard to think of a better example that Donald Trump. This is a little unfair to many folk across the Atlantic, as it is known (even if its not always remembered) that he lost the popular vote to Hiliary Clinton but won via a system that was supposed to stop gobshites like him from attaining the highest office in the country. Well, definitely unfair against those whom don't vote Republican all the time anyway.

But maybe there is one more thing that I can add to that description of Trump. Namely that he is the epitome of the saying "You can have all the money in the world, but money doesn't buy class".

P.S. Well done to the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar for telling Trump to piss off attempting to make his stop over in Ireland an attempt to promote his golf club resort in Doonbeg, Co. Clare, offering instead to meet Trump via normal diplomatic protocols at the nearby Dromoland Castle Hotel where Dubya was hosted when he visited the country during his Presidency. But nope, Trump threw a hissy fit and the whole meeting will now happen in a VIP suite at Shannon Airport!

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